The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

early morning

As soon as Li Kaixin crawled out of bed, a blast of cold air hit her face, making her shiver.

Li Kaixin quickly put on her cotton-padded coat, washed up, and opened the door to find that Master Chen had also opened the door.

"Want to go out for dinner together?" Chef Chen asked Li Kaixin.

Li Kaixin nodded and said, "Yes, Master! I'll go call Wu Tian and the others. Will you wait a moment?"

Master Chen nodded.

Seeing this, Li Kaixin did not hesitate and quickly called out the two people.

A short while later.

The four figures appeared in the grain depot's canteen.

During the meal, Li Kaixin said to Master Chen, "Master, I probably won't be in the county town during the day. I've made plans with someone to go for a stroll at the foot of Changbai Mountain."

Upon hearing this, Master Chen's brows furrowed immediately, and his voice deepened: "Nonsense! You can't just go into those mountains like that! Anything can happen in there—getting lost, encountering wild beasts—it's no joke!"

Wu Tian and Qian Dazhuang echoed with worried expressions, "Yes, Kaixin, I heard there are bears and wild boars in these mountains, it's dangerous!"

Li Kaixin knew they were concerned about him, so he quickly came up with his prepared explanation: "Masters, don't worry. I met a fellow villager from Kaoshantun, Brother Zhao, at the pigeon market yesterday. He lives in the mountains all year round and knows the way well. I just went with him for a walk."

As he spoke, Li Kaixin pulled out the hunting permit again. "Look, we have this. I used to go up the mountain often when I was in Beijing."

Chen Dabing took the certificate, looked at Li Kaixin again, and seeing her determined eyes, he realized he couldn't stop her, so he sighed and gave her some advice.

"Even if you have a fellow villager leading the way, you still need to be extra careful! Remember, be vigilant and never try to be a hero."

"Yes! Master, don't worry, I've got it!" Li Kaixin replied solemnly.

Seeing that even Li Kaixin's master couldn't stop him, Wu Tian and Qian Dazhuang didn't say anything more.

After breakfast, Li Kaixin returned to his room alone and carried the gun and bullets wrapped in cloth on his back.

We left the guesthouse.

Arriving at the back street where I had arranged to meet Zhao Laosi, I saw a figure dressed the same as yesterday in the distance.

Zhao Laosi spotted Li Kaixin at a glance and immediately jogged over, asking, "Looking at this outfit, it must be you, brother! You've finally arrived! I was thinking if you hadn't come, I would have gone to the guesthouse to call you."

Li Kaixin quickly clasped his hands in apology: "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, Brother Zhao, I've kept you waiting! I didn't expect you to arrive so early."

"It's nothing, it's nothing, we mountain people are used to it."

Zhao Laosi waved his hand, leading Li Kaixin to the tractor by the roadside. He shouted to the man in the driver's seat, "Third Brother, this is Brother Li from the city, whom I was talking about yesterday. Come with me into the mountains and take a look!"

He also introduced Li Kaixin to his third brother, Zhao Laosan.

Upon hearing this, Li Kaixin immediately stepped forward, a smile plastered on her face.

He appeared to reach into his robes, but in reality, he took out an unopened pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from his secret space, deftly opened it, pulled out a cigarette, and respectfully handed it to Brother Zhao in the driver's seat.

"Brother Zhao, you've worked hard. Have a cigarette."

Cigarettes with filters are a rare sight in this small county.

Zhao Sange's eyes lit up. He took the cigarette, held it under his nose and took a deep sniff, but did not light it immediately. Instead, he looked Li Kaixin up and down with a scrutinizing gaze.

His tone was wary: "Oh, Brother Li, judging from your accent, you're not from around here, are you? You've come all this way to our remote mountain village just to take a look around?"

Li Kaixin secretly praised the tractor driver's keen senses, but his smile remained unchanged.

He said frankly, "Brother Zhao has a good eye. I'm from the Beijing Transportation Station. I came here with the convoy to pick up grain and I'm staying at the guesthouse."

"I've heard a lot about Changbai Mountain, and I wanted to take advantage of my free time to follow someone like Brother Zhao Si and see what it's like outside the mountain."

As he spoke, he handed over the hunting permit stamped with the red seal of the transport station.

Brother Zhao took the paper. Although he didn't know many words, he could still recognize the bright red official seal and the words "Sijiu City" and "Transportation Station".

The wariness on his face vanished instantly, and he smiled sheepishly, handing the certificate back to Li Kaixin.

His tone warmed up: "Hey, look at the mess you've made. So you're from Beijing! My apologies! I'm just making things up, Brother Li, don't take it to heart."

Zhao Laosan casually tucked his cigarette behind his ear and patted the truck bed enthusiastically.

"Quick! Get in the car, Fourth Brother too, let's go back to the village."

Li Kaixin quickly said, "It's alright, it's alright. It's only right that Brother Zhao is being cautious."

He took out another cigarette and handed it to Zhao Laosi, who was staring at him expectantly.

Zhao Laosi chuckled as he took it, and like Zhao Sange, tucked it behind his ear.

The two climbed into the empty truck bed, and the tractor roared to life, driving away from the county town and heading towards the foot of Changbai Mountain.

Once Zhao Sange had let his guard down, he became quite talkative, and Li Kaixin, eager to make his acquaintance, began chatting about his experiences in Beijing, mentioning things like Tiananmen Square and the Qianmen Gate Tower. Zhao Sange and Zhao Laosi were amazed by what they heard.

Brother Zhao and Old Man Zhao talked about the interesting things that happened in their area, and mentioned that they had come to the county to pick up grain for the grain station.

The three chatted amiably, bursting into hearty laughter from time to time.

Li Kaixin noticed that when Zhao Sange was speaking, his eyes would occasionally glance at the opened package of Daqianmen cigarettes in his hand.

He understood that cigarettes were indeed a form of hard currency and a status symbol in this area.

He smiled and generously stuffed the pack of cigarettes in his hand directly into Brother Zhao's hand.

"Brother Zhao, please take this cigarette. I have more here."

Brother Zhao paused for a moment, looked at the pack of cigarettes in his hand, and showed excitement on his face. He didn't refuse too much, but just patted Li Kaixin's arm hard.

With a booming voice, he said, "Brother Li! You're a true friend! I, Zhao Laosan, consider you my friend! From now on, if anything happens in this area, just let me know!"

Li Kaixin turned around, and Zhao Laosi rubbed his hands, looking at Li Kaixin with longing eyes, his honest face full of thirst.

Li Kaixin found it amusing.

He shook his head helplessly, reached into his pocket again, took out another whole pack of Daqianmen cigarettes, and tossed it to Zhao Laosi.

Zhao Laosi hurriedly caught it, and immediately beamed with joy, clutching it tightly in his hand as if he had received some precious treasure.

He repeatedly said, "Thank you, brother! Thank you, brother!"

At this time, the tractor also arrived at the entrance of Kaoshantun Village.

Zhao Laosan said goodbye to Li Kaixin and then left.

Zhao Laosi led Li Kaixin toward his home.

When they arrived, Zhao Laosi went inside and fiddled with something for a while. When he came out, he had an old single-barreled shotgun slung over his shoulder, the stock of which was worn smooth and shiny.

He then took out a small iron box containing a dark, herbal paste.

As he handed the tin box to Li Kaixin, he earnestly instructed, "Brother, take this. Apply it to all the exposed skin before you go into the mountains. In this old forest, besides large livestock, there's another worm called a grasshopper that's even more deadly! It burrows into flesh and sucks blood; if you're not careful, you'll get a fever, and in severe cases, it can be fatal!"

"This ointment is a traditional remedy passed down from the old hunters in our village, used to ward off that meddlesome manager!"

Li Kaixin took the tin box and felt Zhao Laosi's genuine concern.

He said solemnly, "Brother Zhao, thank you!"

After getting ready, Zhao Laosi gave the equipment a final check and said to Li Kaixin with a serious expression, "Brother, we're heading into the mountains now. You'd better stick close to me and don't wander off, understand?"

"Yes, Brother Zhao, I'll listen to you!" Li Kaixin nodded vigorously.

Zhao Laosi then turned around, slung his satchel over his shoulder, and, with Li Kaixin in tow, set off for Changbai Mountain.